Nightmares
by Faeiry-girl
Summary: When Artemis Fowl begins to have nightmares, he doesn't think much of it. But when his family is kidnapped, he has to decide which is more important- his family, or the entire fairy race. A/H in future chapters.
1. Good Morning

*DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Artemis Fowl, or any related media. I do own the Blueberri Diamond, (unless the Blueberri Diamond really exists... than it belongs to someone else. =0 )

_Artemis was in Butler's Jeep. They had just managed to salvage the rare Blueberri Diamond, and were racing away._

_"Butler! They're getting closer!"_

_It was unlike Artemis to be so nervous. Even the Spiro incident had had a larger chance of failure, but it had gone smoothly. The odds were against artemis today, it seemed. Butler could see that the others were approaching. HOwever, instead of responding to Artemis' comment, he took out his gun and began to shoot. Artemis thought that action was rather foolhardy. Who was supposed to drive the vehicle while Butler shot? He was in the backseat, after all._

_They were almost to the freeway. If they could just make it to the freeway, than surely they could make it! Artemis hoped fervently. He noted that the guards were missing from their chase- Butler must have shot them all. Though perhaps not, because Butler continued to shoot._

_Just ahead were Juliet and Myles. Or perhaps it was Beckett- it was difficult to tell due to the angle and distance. Artemis frowned. Where was the other twin? They were rarely separated. Butler aimed the gun straight ahead, using his foot to steer the car while he leaned out the window and shot._

_"What...?" gasped Artemis, as he watched Juliet and his brother, who looked younger than he had ever seen his brothers outside of a photograph album, now that he thought of it, fall to the ground. From the look of it, without immediate medical assistance, neither would survive. "Butler!" he called. "Pull over! Juliet and the twins need help!" He figured that just saying "the twins" would save precious seconds that they were loosing._

_Butler turned around, and Artemis' world fell black._

_--_

_Artemis was in his bed. It appeared as though he had merely had a very real, very vivid dream. He gave a sigh of relief as Butler barged in, gun pointed straight at Artemis' head. A shot rang off._

Artemis was awakened by the sound of screaming. Not just any screaming- the loud screaming many called "bloody murder". He sat straight up in bed. Butler barged in, and Artemis gulped. The screaming stopped, as Artemis realized, with embarrassment, that he had been the cause of it.

"What's wrong, Artemis?" Butler growled.

Wide-eyed, Artemis stared at the gun while managing to respond in the calmest voice he could conjure, though in truth, it was a little shaky, "N-nothing, I suppose it was just a n-nightmare." Butler rolled his eyes and put the gun away. Artemis gave a sigh of relief. He gave a weak chuckle. Butler did not look happy.

"Since we're up so early, might as well get some exercise. Breakfast will be in 15 minutes. Be ready." Butler left the room. Artemis sighed, again. Luckily for him, there were some old sweats in the back of his closet. He supposed they were an old pair of his fathers-- he had inherited his father's old bedroom upon returning from Hybras. His parents had turned his old bedroom into a storage room for the twins.

Six hours later, Artemis had done 150 push-ups, run 4 miles, and done more crunches than he cared to remember. Butler was making lunch, and monitoring his progress through a video program Artemis had set up so he could babysit his brothers while, in actuality, do something that required more of his brain cells. Artemis believed it was a cruel twist of fate that Butler would use one of his inventions for such a purpose. Butler believed that it was a modern convenience, used for "Artemis'" benefit.

"All right Artemis, time for lunch!"

Artemis stopped his physical exercise by collapsing on the ground. Lying still had never felt so good, except, of course, since the last time he'd exercised.

"Artemis, get up here, or you won't get anything!" If there was one thing Butler hated more than having his principle in an unsecured location, it was having to treat that same principle as though Butler were his mother.

Artemis groaned. "No, thank you."

"So you'd rather stay down there to do more exercise? I'm so glad you're taking an interest in your physical health." Artemis wondered if it were possible for Butler to have injected anymore sarcasm into that statement.

"NO! Anything BUT that." Artemis moaned.

"Than get up here. Use the dumbwaiter if you need to." The exercise room was actually a refurbished part of the wine cellar. When Angeline had discovered that drinking wine was not recommended for pregnant women, and that exercise was, she decided to do a little remodeling. Angeline LOVED to remodel. Unfortunately, that particular gym was often left unused, because of other gyms located around the house. Sometimes, though, when Juliet had wanted a change of scenery, and she would stay downstairs in Holly's old "room", and watch wrestling on the wall-length television installed. (Angeline had taken the chance to remodel her entire basement after convincing Artemis Sr.)

Artemis decided to avoid mentioning that he'd outgrown the dumbwaiter when he was seven, got up, and stumbled to the nearby elevator.


	2. Preparations

A/N: Thank you, all my readers! also...

disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, or anything associated with him, exempting this fanfiction.

--

_"There is a perk to being a major," said Root. "Sometimes, just to relieve the boredom, you can give yourself an assignment. Something on the surface. In Hawaii, maybe, or New Zealand."_ (TOD)

Without warning, Holly remembered the words of her commander. She'd been promoted to major in Section 8 about a month or so ago, and felt the need for a vacation. All these major responsibilities (no pun intended) really took it out of a girl. (A/N: This seems to be Holly's favorite phrase, aside from "D'Arvit, Mudboy!" in the books. I've seen it several times, but I can only find it once, now that I look for it. :( oh well, that's what I get for being cheap, and only owning a couple of the books. ^^)

She smirked. She had to preform the ritual soon, anyway, so maybe it was time for the LEP's favorite mudboy to receive a surprise visit. She got up from her desk and began to walk over to Foaly.

"So, you've put yourself on an assignment? Where'd you get that idea?" Foaly chuckled inside his office.

"Beetroot," She said, a faraway look in her eyes that quickly vanished. Foaly glanced at her before going back to finding her iris-cam. "Where is that D'Arviting... " He turned suddenly and galloped to his desk. He reached under, to grab a box clearly labeled "RECON: Holly Short"

"You kept all of my things in a separate box?"

Foaly blushed. "I just... " he cleared his throat. "I put it aside while you were, you know..." he trailed off, embarrassed.

Holly nodded. "This way, it's easier to find."

"By the way," Foaly asked, giving a quick spin on his modified swivel chair, "What's so important that you need to find in Ireland, anyway?" Holly merely glanced at her friend, a skeptical look on her face.

"I'm not sure. I do know, however, that I will find out."

"It isn't Fowl, is it?" Foaly frowned, and stopped spinning in order to face her.

"He didn't put me up to anything. Besides, top secret. You don't have security clearance." Holly said defensively, though she knew that in reality she was ordering herself on vacation. No secret, no need for clearance.

"Fine." Foaly whinneyed. "But you'll tell me all about it when you get back, right?" His face had a pleading quality the Mudmen called a "puppy-dog pout."

Holly laughed. "Of course. If you're lucky, you might also get a carrot."

--

sorry this chapter is mostly fluff, but I decided it was unfair to leave you with 2 paragraphs and a quote. Also, I needed a valid reason to get Holly out of Haven. ^^

R&R!


	3. Stubborn Negotiations

*DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Artemis Fowl, or any related media.

_That nights batch of nightmares included being attacked on multiple levels on various disney-esc rides such as "Its A Small World", etc. _

Holly Short knocked on the window of the Fowl study three times.

Artemis looked up from his work, startled. After checking a few locations (just large enough for two three-year-old boys), he opened the window and let her in.

"You're lucky my brothers are in Euro Disney," he scolded her.

"I knew nobody was here except you and Butler. I ran a thermal," she said. Artemis gave a knowing nod, expecting as much. "Is there anything particularly stressful in your life right now?" Holly asked, leaning back in her chair.

Artemis frowned.

"Honestly, Holly, if I did have something stressful, do you think I would tell you?" Holly was used to this attitude.

"I understand if your male pride is getting in the way of letting you admit something. Its very typical, especially in males your age."

Artemis narrowed his eyes. "You're sounding smart."

"What, am I not allowed to know things as well? You're forgetting I have to deal with this nearly every day. You haven't experianced it yet. You may have read about it, but there's an old saying among the elves, 'Salt is tasted, not spoken.' What do you suppose it means?"

"You're trying to psychoanalyze me. I won't have any of it."

"I was asking a simple question. Surely you won't begrudge me an answer." She tilted her head slightly, and widened her eyes slightly as she said this.

"No." He folded his arms.

"Please?" she asked quietly.

"You're going to explain it to me anyways, so I may as well wait until you do." Artemis smirked.

"Oh, no, you don't. I can be just as stubborn as you, and I say you tell me first." Holly folded her arms, mimicking the boy. After about five minutes of complete silence in the study, she uncrossed her arms. "I'm still waiting. If you want to tell me, I'll be talking to Butler." With that, she walked out the door.

**So, thank you for reading this far! I'll post chapter four quicker than I did this... and for those who reviewed about the dumbwaiter, I advise carefully rereading the Time Paradox. There is a section where the dumbwaiter is mentioned, so there is proof in the series...**

**Faeiry-Girl**


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